Rail car wheel



E. G. BUDD RAIL CAR WHEEL Filed March 16, 1934 Aril 2o, 1937.

INVENTOR. f EDWARD CLBUDD.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 20, 1937 PATENT oFF1cE 2,078,191` am can. WHEEL Edward G.Budd, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor` to vEdward (i.A Budd ManufacturingCompany,

Philadelphia, Pa., a vania corporation I.' Pennsyl- Application` March16, 1934, Serial No. 715,852

3 Claims.

The present invention relates in general to pneumatic tired rail carwheels and has as its chief object to improve the wearing quality ofsuch tires and render them capable of carrying higher loads on longcontinuous runs without deterioration from overheating, by providing forthe conduction of heat away 4from the rubber walls of the tire` at arate suiiicient to oifset the tendency to overheating under theextremely high long runs would raise the temperature toa degree wherethe material of the tire would rapidly deteriorate. Thus the attainmentof the above object of providing for conduction of heat away from thetire walls, makes possible the use of higher loads.

In the use of pneumatic rail car wheels, especially under the higherloads here contemplated, it is of great importance, in the event ofdeflation.

that the wheel drop be limited to an amount insuiicient to permit thewheel flange to drop below the rail head or engage trackage equipmentsuch as fish plates and rail bonds situated near the side of the railhead. An ancillary object therefor is to provide a limit dropsuiliciently sturdy to support the load but so embodied in common withother necessary parts as to reduce the accompanying additional Weight toa minimum. i f

The above objects are attained by the provision of a tire casing ofsubstantially conventional construction having a wide annular' openingor gap in its inner wall bridged by a metallic rim or wall sectionarranged to make thermal contact with the metallic rim of the wheel overan extended area and having a substantial portion odset or reentrantinto the air space of the tire. 'I'he rim bridging theannular opening inthe tire wall thus in effect forms a metallic inner wall for the tirewith integral portions in direct thermal contact over an extended areawith the air space in the tire and the metallic body material of .thewheel. By making the opening in the inner tire wall of substantialwidth, considerable saving in loading pressures which obtain in the useof pneurubber is eiected with the omission of rubber from parts onlywhere flexibility is not necessary. l By making the tire rim member ofpressed metal with a portion offset into the air, space of the tire arigid strong limit drop ring is formed with minimum increase in weight.

While the invention is particularly directed to the solution of problemsarising in rail car operation as above set forth, its adaptability toand usefulness in Iother ilelds of transportation will be obvious.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanyingA drawing in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary vertical section.

Fig. 2 is a small scale, side view of the inner annulus. n

Referring to the drawing, the'wheel body I0 which may be of any knownorother suitable form of metallic wheel body, is provided with a widewheel felly II carrying a guide flange I2V ar-l ranged to cooperate withthe side of the rail head` I 3 for guiding the wheel over the rail. Theside portion I4 where the flange joins the wheel felly forms the xedinnertire retaining flange of the ielly while the outer edge of thefelly is provided with a removable retaining ring I5. The retain- A ingring I5 is secured to the wheel body I0 by a suitable bolt and nutfastening means I6.

Fitted on the wheel felly 'I I is my improved cool running tire IIcomprising a tire casing of substantially conventional constructionexcept that the radial inner wall of the tire is provided with a wideannular openingI I8 bridged by a metallic rim or wall section I9.- Thiswall section I9 consists of a pair of sheet metal annuli 20 and 2 I, theouter one 2| being continuous and the inner one 20 sectional as shown inFig. 2, for a purpose which will later appear. Both annuli are `ofinwardly facing flanged channel sectionsecured together innestecbrelation with the bottoms of the channels in direct thermalcontact. and the ad-4 jacent sides 22--23 and flanges 24--25, spacedapart in substantially parallel relation and receiving Within said spacethe marginal edges 26 of the opening I8. The nested annuli 20-2I aresecured together with their juxtaposed surfaces in good thermal contactthroughout by means `of bolts 21.

By forming the annuli in channel section as shown the central portion ofthe metallic rim or innerwall member I9 is oiset into the air space ofthe tire. This offset is made of sufficient radiall depth in relation tothe radial depth of the inner surface of the tread wall to provide alimit drop member 28 in the form of a limit drop ring extending radiallyoutwardly into the air spade of thetire and in direct contact with theair inthe intimate thermal contact and clamp the beaded marginal edgesof the tire between the flanges tire. 'Ihe purpose of such limit drop isto liniit 24-25, the ange 25 being made with suiiicient the drop of thewheel, in the event of deflation, to an amount insuilicient to permitthe wheel ilange to be damaged or interfered with by trackage equipment,such as fish plates and rail bonds situated near the side of the railhead, and to prevent undue flattening or distortion of the tire Toaugment the transfer of heat from the tire and from the air within thetire to the metal body of the wheel, the edges of the flanges 25 areextended radially outwardly into the air space in the tire to increasethe area of contact between the interior air and the rim, while theflanges 2l of the inner annulus 20 are extended f axially a considerabledistance to afford a large area of contact with the metallic felly Il,and retaining ring I5.

The tread wall of the tire is provided with a thickened rubber treadportion 28 with a width considerably greater than the width of the railhead to allow for lateral movement of .the tire on the rail head, andgive an increased effective tread area. To increase the wearingqualityand render the tread portion substantially inexpansible radially whilepreserving its flexibility, the tread portion is provided with areinforcing flexible belting 29, preferably like that described -in myco-pending fapplication, Serial 677,190,

filed June 23, 1933, and comprising a flexible but substantiallyinexpansible belt fabricated of mer tallic strands or suitable strongfibrous material,

inserted in the tread portion of the tires. or other like form ofreinforcement for the tread is of special importance lin a tire of thepresent atish cross section to enable the tire 'to withstand the highpressure required in use without strain or undue distortion of shape.

From the above it will be clear thatsubstantially the entire inner wallof the tire is metal with a large portion of its area in direct thermalcontact with both the metallic wheel body and the central portion of theair space in the tire thus ailording rapid conduction of heat from theinterior of the tire to the metal wheel body. It will also be noted thatby forming the tire rim orwall portion I9 off sheet metal in channelsection a strong eifective limit drop is formed without substantialaddition of material land weight. l

For assembling the parts of the. tire during construction, the radiallyouter annulus 2| may be put in place through the wide opening in theinner wall of the tire casing by spreading the beaded marginal edgesapart axially, the ilexible side Walls Permitting this. The radiallyinner annulus 29 may now be placed inside the outer annulus overlappingthe marginal edges 26 of the tire walls, the annulus 20 being made inthree sections for this purpOse., Each section of the ring 20 is thensecured in place by tightening up the bolts 21 to bring the rings 20and-2i into ThisV resilience to permit the annuli to be brought intocontact after clamping the tire between the flanges To further insure anair tight joint between lie edges of the opening in the tire and theclamping anges, a suitable. cement may be applied to thecontactingsurfaces before assembling and clamping.

From inspection of the drawing it will be clear that by removing theretaining flange I5, the tire may be removed. from the wheel withouthaving to disassemblethe tire or break the air seal thereof. r

While I' have thus shown and described a speciiic embodiment of theinvention for the sake of disclosure, it is to be .understood that thein'- vention is not limited tosuch specic embodiment, but contemplatesall such modifications and variations thereof as fall fairly within thescope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A pneumatic tired wheel for railway vehicles comprising a metallicwheel felly, a tire casing having a wide annular opening in its innerwall, a pair of sheet metal annuli of inwardly facing ilanged channelsection secured together in nested relation with the bottoms ofthechannels in direct thermal contact and the adjacent sides and flangesspaced in substantial parallel relation in transverse section, themarginal edges of the inner wall of said casing along the said annularopening being clamped between the said adjacent sides and flanges, theflanges of the inner annulus being arranged tact with the wheel felly.

2'. A pneumatic tired wheel for railway vehiclescomprising a wheel bodyhavinga felly, and a pneumatic tire casing carried by a metallic rim.demountably secured upon and in direct thermal contact with said felly,said rim comprising a pair of annuli, the outer annulus having its edgesand central portions offset to present a Substantial surface in directthermal contact with 'the inating medium within said tire, the innerannulus collapsibly nested into engagement with said outer annulus atits central portion and hermetically clamping said tire casing at itsmarginal portions.

3. A pneumatic tired wheel for railway vehicles, comprising a metallicwheel felly, a tire casing having a wide annular opening in its innerwall, a pair of sheet metal annuli secured together in direct thermalcontact with their adjacent marginal edges spaced in substantiallyparallel relation in transverse section, the marginal edges of lthe'inner wall of said casing along the said annular opening being clampeddirectly between the said adiacent marginal edges of the annuli, themarginal edges of the inner annulus being arranged in thermal contactwith the wheel -fe1ly.

EDWARD G. BUDD.

in thermal con--

